A movie that was just not made for the sake of being a commercial success and I am so glad huge amount of risks taken with the story and concept, for not everyone in the Indian Audience is going to really get this one and might even find this slow and rhetoric. I am now an even bigger fan of Gauri Shinde than I ever was, she has a subtle style of dealing with heavy subject matters and treating them with lightness and freshness that keeps the audience entertained as well bring to light some real life issues
The screenplay, art direction and cinematography are all brilliant and they really play along the plot (Goa) and mood of the characters. Alia Bhat is one engaging actress with immense potential, and \ all Alia jokes are soon going to go out the window. She only seems to be growing as an actress and I really hope she continues to chose roles that challenge her. Her styling for this movie is fantastic, a perfect combination of bohemian, artistic, elegant and young and she seems to have really worked for an extremely slim frame which makes her look way taller than she actually is.
Alia plays the character of Kaira, a young filmmaker who has issues with her personal relationships and most importantly with romantic relationships. Nothing seems to be going right and she loses sleep, which pushes her to reluctantly visit a therapist, Jehangir Khan / Jug (Played by Shahrukh Khan). The interaction between the two is weaved in to some witty/ funny dialogues and quotes rendered by SRK, whilst Kaira has her breakthroughs. I know for sure that real life therapist's sessions are not so philosophical and generic, but I guess this had to be made more entertaining and and less complex to connect with the audience . There are some real good generic takeaways for the audience and if you can relate to any of the situations that Kaira has been in, it does make sense - "you do not have to go through difficulties to achieve something", "You do not have to face your fears unprepared", "you do not be afraid of being judged" and "you do not have to fit in to societal norms", "being true to yourself is the most important when you are in a relationship", "nobody is perfect" and "forgiveness is about loving yourself"
This movie breaks a lot of stereotypes, perhaps for the best, about seeking mental therapy or showing the female protagonist as someone who is out and about dating and dropping men. Kunal, Aditya and Ali Zafar, just fill-in the story as Kaira's boyfriends and nothing more . I must add, watching an SRK movie with a friend who is a big fan was great fun and did she and a few others go Awww, so loud every time a dialogue was rendered in the cinema theatre, that kind of energy itself can work for the movie. I would recommend this movie to anyone who liked English Vinglish and who is not looking to be entertained by dance and songs. This movie could be pulled of as well as it has been, only because it has been written, scripted and directed by the same person.
